A Diary of Scattered Thoughts

[Maximus Dominus]

Max - Balls of interest?  Now that's a set that I don't have.  Yep, I m gonna grow me a new pair.?

Glad to see that someone is actually reading and paying attention to what I am writing, Dan. The "balls of interest" quip was quite a deliberate choice on my part. I do occasionally strive to inject a little humor into some of the stuff that I write. You seem to have an eye for the juggling of balls, I would say.

Good luck on your quest to grow a new pair of balls. Might I suggest Miracle-Gro?

[Maximus Dominus]

Having now eaten two "pieces/slices" of a chicken pot pie that I made, today, my mind now wanders to the topic of maps - as in maps for Alamaze.

There's just such a ton of things that one can do with maps. They are like the visual crown jewels of fantasy settings. Maps immediately tell your eyes the difference between Mordor and Gondor, between the Shrire and Mirkwood, the difference between Aquilonia and Stygia. The Great Ongoing Hullabaloo that video games have graphics and PBM games do not misses the forest for the trees. PBM games, whether of the paper format variety rf of the digital lineal descendant variety, can still make use of visual imagery to enhance the favor (and appeal) of their games.

Here's a thought that I had, post-chicken pot pie. Future maps for Alamaze should really take steps to visually inform players and those just passing through that the map is only a single portion of a much greater visual whole. What lies just beyond? As in, what lies beyond the part of the great and vast realm that is Alamaze that i am playing on, today? What can they see, but can't play on, right now? In other words, future Alamaze maps of the world or continent or large land mass size should visually tempt players with what the future holds. The same game mechanics can be paired up with an unlimited number of maps, resources, will, and drive considered.

Separate and apart from that, in what ways can players mod Alamaze? Or said another way, how does Alamaze allow players to creatively invest themselves in Alamaze? If there is no way to mod Alamaze, then Alamaze loses out on a huge chunk of player creativity. Player creativity is a form of energy. How do players design new kingdoms, and then test them out and let others in the Alamaze player community enjoy them?

Modding Alamaze could include the provision of a map (within certain Alamaze-specific specs - such as height and width), and a file of some kind (xml or text or whatever, a format which holds the "details" of kingdoms, troops, groups, characters, spells available). If you can't attract and facilitate player creativity, then the work load to stretch Alamaze's creative horizons falls back upon the owners and the programmer(s), basically. Ideally, you want players to invest themselves into Alamaze, not just come and play the game in its same form, endlessly. Why do Hyborian War players keep on visiting The Road of Kings forum site after, in some instances, decades? Not just because that game is still discussed there, but also in part because they have invested so much of themselves into the forum there.

A quick and smooth way for players to expand Alamaze's menu of offerings. Minecraft is a great example of player creativity. Yest, what is it, visually? Clunky blocks, but it's a game that's visually greater than the sum of its individual parts.

[Maximus Dominus]

Missed Turns Lead to Player Dropouts

It's just a fact. While missing a turn (or turns) does not guarantee that a player is going to drop out of a game of Alamaze, nonetheless, players who have signed up to play games of Alamaze, but who decide to not play (regardless of why), after all, will miss the issuing of their turn orders to their chosen kingdom(s).

In a bid to allow for a better way forward to combat potential player dropouts before they ever happen, the Alamaze Online Order System needs to be updated/changed, in order to let Alamaze Support know whenever a player has missed issuing their turn orders, when any given turn processes.

This will allow Alamaze Support an opportunity to proactively contact the player in question, in order to head off potential forthcoming player dropping of games.

If the player is just confused about something in the rules or in the game or in the game interface, some player dropouts may be avoided, this way.

Timely and effective communications can sometimes bolster player retention efforts.

[RELLGAR]

An Alert email is sent if no orders have been entered by the 24hous before due date.

[Maximus Dominus]

An Alert email is sent if no orders have been entered by the 24hous before due date.

Who is this alert e-mail sent to, though? The player or to Alamaze Support?

If it only goes to the player (I receive them, occasionally, myself), then that's not what I am proposing. It needs to go to Alamaze Support, and Alamaze Support needs to act on it, by attempting to actively initiate contact with that player, in a bid to head off at least some of the potential dropouts ahead of time.

At worst, it fails. At best, a portion of player dropouts may be avoided. Just ending an e-mail alert to the players isn't the same thing, at all.

[Maximus Dominus]

   

   

[Maximus Dominus]

There needs to be a list maintained and on display for all players to see, of what changes/proposed changes are in a queue for Alamaze.

A fix-it list. A honey-do list. Call it whatever you want to, but fixes reduce or eliminate annoyance at something within the game. Is a particular issue even on this list? If so, then where it is located on the list, relative to everything else that's on the list. It's not as though items, once on the list, can't be reprioritized either up or down on the list.

Without such a list, the player base is basically kept in the dark. A highly visible list of such a nature yields insight on the direction that a game is headed, and it serves as a constant reminder to one and all that progress and improvement are on the table. This is one way that you can help to keep players engaged with a game, even when their frustration levels rise. The absence of such a list does not aid player retention efforts. Nobody likes to be left in the dark.

[Brekk]

I am currently working on such a list. What I dont know is if things are doable so my plan is to take what I see on the boards compile it then work to see what is doable vs what is not. Once I have done that I will provide more information. My goal is to keep the community updated.

[Maximus Dominus]

One possible way to aid new players in grasping what are some good early orders to issue, in a bid to get them off to a good start, would be to (if possible) gather data on which turn orders/commands that veteran players of the game issue in their first several turns.

Then break it down by first, second, third most used orders, etc. on turns one, two, three, etc..